GoKawiilGoogle Sheets adds drag-and-drop pivot table sorting, keeps Excel custom sorts
Google announced that Sheets now preserves custom sort order in pivot tables imported from Excel, rather than reverting them to standard alphanumeric order. Users can also drag and drop rows or columns to reorder pivot table data, with nested child items moving along automatically, and these custom arrangements now persist across sessions and data refreshes. The rollout began today and may take up to 15 days to reach all users.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Better interoperability between Excel and Sheets could reduce friction for teams that split work across both tools, a common pain point for spreadsheet-heavy workflows. The changes suggest Google continues to prioritize closing feature gaps with Microsoft Office to retain enterprise users who rely on pivot tables for data analysis.
- Pivot tables imported from Excel now keep their custom sort order instead of reverting to alphanumeric.
- Rows and columns can be dragged and dropped directly in Sheets, preserving nested hierarchies.
- Custom arrangements persist across browser sessions and data updates, with rollout taking up to 15 days.
Source: androidauthority.com, 2026-09-23
Published there as: “Google Sheets now plays more nicely with your imported Excel spreadsheets”
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